It is common to define both exterior boundaries and lateral hazards of a golf course with painted stakes which are driven into the ground; exterior boundary stakes are typically white, lateral hazard markers are typically red and water hazards are typically yellow.
Although the stakes are usually made of wood and are therefore inexpensive to fabricate, they create a maintenance problem due to the fact that they are relatively immobile and often interfere with the golfer's ability to take a proper stand for a stroke. More specifically, a ball which comes to rest sufficiently close to a marker stake so as to interfere with the swing or the line of flight presents the golfer with the need to either move the ball, which is an infraction of the rules of golf, or remove the stake. If the stake is relatively loose in the ground, it may be summarily removed and dispatched by the golfer where upon it must be found and replaced by the maintenance crew.
Moreover, stakes which are simply driven into the ground present obstacles to golf course maintenance personnel in that they interfere with the use of mowing equipment. Again, the area immediately around the stake must either be left uncut or laboriously trimmed by hand. Alternatively, the mower operator can stop the mower, remove the stake, mow the area and replace the stake, a time consuming process.